Pardon my absence.
We have been on a little vacation.

A windy walk down memory lane.

My alma mater II.

Colorado State University

Things are always changing.

Skateboard racks, and a new Rec Center

Soccer practice fields

Where we first met (at least close)

In front of the Pathology Building

First kiss

We did drive around to our old domiciles, and found them all (30 years later). The fun Fort has grown by leaps and bounds, and we checked out a few new eating establishments and sampled some Ft. Collins brew while watching the Avalanche (lose).

The weather was OK, but the last 3-1/2 days were dominated by unrelenting wind. We took one walk where the best entertainment was provided by birds trying to make headway, then tacking, then flying at Mach 1 with the wind. We estimate the wind at over 20 mph sustained with gusts up to 40 mph.

Now, the real reason we were here was to assist moving 2 generations in 1 big house to a small apartment for generation older and a good-sized house for generation younger. We applied skills we learned from our 2013 moves, and apart from 2 very traumatized cats, things have gone pretty well.

Wall to the top, dryer to the bottom

Younger generation provided shelter in their new house with a bed, towels, two forks and a pan. We learned that it was more than enough to sustain ourselves, and that strawberries can serve as utensils.

Our main charge was the older generation, and they were troopers; making decisions, giving directions and putting up with paperwork. They are now getting settled in a lovely complex called MacKenzie Place. It is cozy, but comfortable and as soon as the telephone gets a dial tone, Bob can relax.

Carl with Bob & Doris

We spent the day getting some odds and ends done, and then enjoyed the beautiful day by taking a long walk, ~9-10 miles.

Well over 20,000 steps.
We really have to thank Mark for the step counter. It drives the distances.

And it was apparently selection Sunday.

It appears to be Tennessee

The goats took about three days to do their work.

3 days work

Check the previous post for the before picture.

We came across the after picture on a homeward bound leg of a walk.
But we had not reached 20,000 steps on Carl’s counter, so we turned north instead of south.
As we rounded a corner we thought we heard a baby, but not quite.
I joked that the goats had gotten loose and were roaming the neighborhood.

We were next accosted by this little guy.

Up and coming lawn mower

Pretty darn cute for a future leg of lamb.

Today’s walk had to wait for the rain to cease.
After dinner we set out.
Carl wanted to do some steps, but I was not looking forward to a walk, not a workout.

We settled on a longer than planned route with some hills and valleys.
The goal was taken from the Seattle Times sketcher piece in the morning’s paper.

We have been to the Rock before, an erratic from a glacial period.

This walk was not only a chance to get out of the house, but to avoid getting too worked up over a Sounders game on TV. The score was 1-1 when we left at about 30 minutes through the first half. It was still 1-1 when we passed a bar with about 10 minutes left in the game. As we rounded a corner for the last 9 blocks to home, we heard a roar from a bar about 1/2 block away. Our assumption that the Sounders had scored a goal were confirmed when we passed the Bierstubbe, and they held on for the win!

Other than that – a bit of work, and chance for some sunshine tomorrow.

Pemco Insurance has a series of ads about what makes Seattle quirky or different, “You’re one of us,” is the tag line.

Most of what they show is true.
They use actors, but they really wouldn’t need to if they just took their cameras out on the street.

Today we got to witness one of the Seattle happenings in person.

A few of the 25-30 goats on site.

Goat close-up

Kind of cute.

Working the hillside

We were wondering how long it would take to get through this hill of blackberry bushes.

A good excuse to get out after dinner. (Really, just a 10-minute leisurely walk from the house.)
No trolls in site, and more next to a (freeway) bridge than going above.

The day had been a gloriously sunny day. Spent batting practice sitting in the sun. The game is underway, and the sun has dropped behind the 3rd bade stands. The temperature dropped 5 degrees in a minute, and has continued its steady decline.

There is no chance of rain, so no clouds to hold the heat in. Forecast has tonight’s lows in the 30s.

Welcome to spring baseball in Seattle. And yet, there are crowds. There is a bit of a buzz about town. Maybe just a holdover from the Seahawks. It really doesn’t matter at this point. The baseball season is like a marathon, and we are just warming up in the first few miles.

I am sure the title to this post reflects a time in most people’s lives.
I was feeling pretty smug (not sure that is the correct word, because it sounds as though I am proud of this state) that I had worked over 100 hours during the last 2-week pay period. I was probably more satisfied that I had accomplished a goal, rather than the amount of time it took me to get there.

Tonight we chatted with both of our kids, separately.
They each, without hearing what the other had said, declared, “I am quite tired. I have been working a 60 hour week.”
I guess I am just a piker with my 50 hour weeks.

Ashlan is working long hours as a newly minted GM for a sandwich store in Manhattan.
Hopefully the hours will get more manageable as she gets a bit more time under her belt.

Rey is working long hours at his new position with the Tennessee Smokies.
Yes, again – for those that follow the bouncing ball – he has retired from being a soda jerk (or milkshake jerk) at a burger joint, to become a concessions person at the ballpark. He was asked to come back to the team to help out while another employee undergoes cancer treatment. The employee is a friend of Rey’s, and his new boss was his old boss when he started with the Smokies, so he wanted to help them out. Rey is well aware of the long hours that come with working for a ball club.  Today was their second game of the season, and a DARE (lots of kids) game. He said he has been doing a lot of payroll activities, expects to run concessions in the suites, but spent today cashiering for the dip-n-dots stand.

This is a seasonal gig for Rey, he told them his last day would be about July 14th. That is when he plans to take a short break, and then head back to school.

While nothing is definite, he has been offered an assistantship by the University of Tennessee.
I am a proud mama.

So it is finally opening day. Home opening day that is.
I decided to take the entire day off from work.

So I started by staying at work yesterday until 8 PM.
But that was because the Board approved the 3-year long effort to update our Wastewater Comprehensive Plan!
I don’t hear the cheering – louder now.

My post meeting work time was spent sending out bits and pieces to get this sucker lovely report out the door so others can tear into it.
I noted that a first cousin once removed has just defended her thesis. Congratulations, but don’t think it is the end of being judged.
And the take-away from any of you that might choose to read it (not linked – one of the items I sent out last night was to IT to get it up on the web-site) is to not throw trash – including especially disposable wipes – in the toilet. Use the trash can.

For those that care to follow the wastewater stream, disposable is not the same as dispersible.

Speaking of crap, I spent the early part of my vacation day picking up the rat turds in the squat space (see prior blog post). Fun times.

Back to baseball.

Seattle Mariners 4 – A’s and Angels 2
Not a bad start.
Carl has made it to 50% of the games the Mariners have played this year (2-1), and a Padres game and a Tacoma Rainiers game. If helps that his main kid is in Salt Lake City, so he can roam around looking for games. He has only been on TV once to my knowledge, but we did pick him up in a montage commercial for Root Sports NW.

Carl’s Highlight Reel on Root Sports

And so,  we are now trying to figure out how to get to the game.
Maybe bus, maybe walk, … all very weather dependent.

Of course, part of the fun of Opening Day is seeing people you have not seen since late September.
Time to find all of my Mariner paraphernalia, glove, hat.

As one of my work friends noted:

We Interrupt this Household

to Bring you

Mariner Baseball

True to the Blue.

The title is really a little misleading.
We did have a bit of a pest problem, and they left about the time Carl left town.

Since we have been back in the house there have been occasional ants in the upstairs bathroom.
Little tiny ants. Ants that I often would not see in the morning – because I did not have my glasses on yet.

Then there was the day that Carl went into the downstairs bathroom and there were 100 or so little tiny ants.
Eewwww.
He went on a killing spree.

We did so much work on that end of the house, that we figured we had exposed an avenue in, or just disturbed a previous nest during construction. So we called in the pros. (Yes, we called one that uses low toxicity methods.)

Apparently we were not the only folks in the area with ant problems – they would take at least 5 days before they could get to our infestation. The rate of ant sightings went up and then down. Weather? Killing spree was successful? Who knew. (It was kind of like going to the doctor for a nagging injury, and then it just isn’t hurting when you finally get to your appointment.)

Saturday and the bug guy arrived. Very few ants in attendance. Until he put out his bait in the windowsills. Little drops of a sweet gel (with just a hint of poison), and some protein powder as well. Since their visit we have seen very few sugar ants (as they are called), so perhaps it did the trick.

What we did learn was that if they did come out we should not squish them. They put off a coconut like smell (Carl recognized this from his spree), but that tells the rest of the colony that it is not safe and they move. Just to another part of your wall. You can blot them up with a soapy paper towel – which will also get rid of their trail.

Bonus of having the bug guy visit was his inspection of the house exterior for signs of ants. Including a trip into our squat space. [A small space under the end of the kitchen, accessible from a hobbit sized door on the side of the house. Too low to walk into, but you definitely do not need to crawl.] And others had found their way into our space, without using the door. RATS! Rats are all over our neighborhood, so that was not too much of a surprise, but we did not realize we were remodeling a space for them too. [The contractor came back and sealed the rat doors after our report.]

As soon as the pest report was in, Carl was out.

California dreamin’ with baseball on his mind.

4 Men in a Prius is the working title for this trip.
Opening day in Anaheim, next day in San Diego, back to Anaheim, and tonight in Oakland.

I have been following the games, sometimes on TV.
Tonight I was talking to Carl on the phone during the early innings.
A few minutes after we hung up, there he was on the TV – big as life.
They were just showing the Mariner fans in attendance (M’s broadcast team).
And he was on the phone – it wasn’t with me – who could it be.

He is likely getting back tomorrow, and then it is just a few days until the opener in Seattle.

Meanwhile, at work we have been draining 2 million gallons of water from a tank outside of our office.
Actually, about 1.6 million gallons. We were able to deliver about 400,000 gallons before the level in the tank was too low to keep good pressure in the water system. So today I got to put on my rain boots and climb into the tank.

Being in water tanks is cool.
They are ethereal. And the sound echo is awesome.
Unfortunately, they are also kind of dark, and the phone camera does not do much justice.

The dark stuff is manganese. Naturally occurring. Well within allowable levels. We filter manganese out at the wells now, but only for the last few years.  The hanging piece is our level float. It is connected to a guage on the outside of the tank. We also have a transducer for more accurate level measurements. The taller pipe penetration is where the water comes in and goes out to the system (same pipe). The lower pipe is the drain.

Level float, feed and deliver, and drain

Conference in the tank. (Not goofing off – that is my boss)

Roof is about 100 feet up. Ladder shadow – overflow funnel on the right